--- name: scene-breakdown-writer description: "Breaks a documentary sequence into a detailed scene-by-scene breakdown with action descriptions, narration cues, interview placement, and B-roll requirements." status: stable category: tv-documentary subcategory: scripting version: 1.0 eval_score: 4.4 tags: [documentary, scripting, breakdown, structure, editing] --- # Scene Breakdown Writer ## What This Skill Does Breaks a documentary sequence into a detailed scene-by-scene breakdown with action descriptions, narration cues, interview placement, and B-roll requirements. ## When To Use This Skill - You are building a paper edit or offline edit plan and need to structure raw material into scenes before starting the cut - You want to present a sequence structure to a broadcaster or editor before the rough cut - You are writing the narration script and need the picture structure mapped out first - You want to check whether a proposed sequence structure serves its narrative purpose before committing editing time ## What You Need To Provide **Required:** A description of the sequence (what it covers, what it needs to achieve narratively); the raw material available (interview excerpts, observational footage descriptions, archival material); the sequence's position in the film (opening, mid-film, climax, closing) **Optional:** Approximate target running time for the sequence; the film's overall tone and narration style; specific interview lines or quotes you want to include; the preceding and following sequences for context ## How the Assistant Approaches This 1. Establishes the sequence's narrative function — what question or story beat it opens, develops, and closes 2. Structures the scene order to create maximum forward momentum: establishes before explains, shows before tells, plants before pays off 3. Writes each scene with three elements: Action (what the audience sees), Narration Cue (where and approximately what the narration should say, or "N/A" if the scene plays without narration), and Interview Placement (which interview line or subject appears, if any) 4. Adds B-roll requirements for each scene — what additional footage is needed to cover cuts or add visual depth 5. Closes with a "Next Step" note: which scene to confirm material for first (typically the one most at risk of having no footage), whether commentary-writer should be run to develop the narration cues into full script, and whether rough-cut-notes will be needed once a first cut exists ## Output Format Scene-by-scene breakdown document. Each scene: Scene number, Approximate running time, Action (what we see), Narration Cue, Interview Placement, B-roll Required. Followed by a Sequence Notes section flagging potential structural problems or missing material. Target length scales with sequence complexity — typically 400–700 words for a 4–6 minute sequence. Output ends with a "Next Step" note: which scene to verify material availability for first, whether to run commentary-writer to develop narration cues, and whether rough-cut-notes will be useful once an assembly cut exists. ## Quality Criteria - [ ] Scenes are numbered and have approximate running times that total to the target sequence length - [ ] Action descriptions are specific and visual — not "we learn about X" but "we see X doing Y in Z location" - [ ] Narration cues are brief prompts, not finished narration — they indicate editorial function, not final script - [ ] Interview placement identifies specific speakers and approximate content, not generic "interview here" - [ ] Sequence Notes honestly flags missing material or structural risks - [ ] Output includes at least one concrete next action the user can take immediately (confirm material availability, run commentary-writer for narration development, or prepare rough-cut-notes after the assembly cut) ## Example ### Input Sequence: The opening sequence of a documentary about a fishing community's response to a dramatic decline in their catch over three years Narrative function: Establish the community, the landscape, the way of life — and introduce the crisis without explaining it yet Position: Film opening, before the title card Target running time: 5–6 minutes Available material: Observational footage of early-morning boat departure; harbor at dawn; boats returning with small catch; interview with veteran fisherman Elias Strand about what the sea used to be like; archive footage of the same harbor in the 1990s when the catch was abundant; underwater footage of fish schooling (2010, not current); community meeting footage (not for this sequence) Tone: Contemplative, visually led ### Output **Scene Breakdown — Opening Sequence** *Documentary: Fishing Community / Declining Catch* *Target: 5–6 minutes | Position: Pre-title* --- **Scene 1 — Darkness before dawn** *Approx. running time: 0:45* *Action:* Black screen. The sound of water before the image. Slow fade up to: an exterior shot of the harbor in near-total darkness. A single light on one of the boats. The sounds of preparation — ropes, engines idling. *Narration Cue:* No narration. Sound only. *Interview Placement:* None. *B-roll Required:* Confirm pre-dawn harbor footage exists and is usable in low light. If not, this scene may need to be replaced with a cut from darkness to dawn. --- **Scene 2 — The departure** *Approx. running time: 1:15* *Action:* A fishing boat leaves the harbor. We follow it from the dock, then cut to on-board — the crew moving efficiently, doing a job they have done thousands of times. The harbor recedes. The open sea appears. *Narration Cue:* No narration. Possibly a single title card over black before this scene: the town name and "Atlantic coast." *Interview Placement:* None. *B-roll Required:* On-board footage of crew during departure. Aerial or wide shot of boat leaving harbor if available — do not use drone footage if it disrupts the observational register. --- **Scene 3 — The sea as it was** *Approx. running time: 1:00* *Action:* Archive footage: the harbor in the 1990s. Full boats. The same landscape, louder with life. Then: underwater footage from 2010 — a dense school of fish. Both sequences play without explanation. *Narration Cue:* No narration. Let the contrast work visually. *Interview Placement:* None. *B-roll Required:* Archive footage as described. Confirm archive rights are cleared. Underwater footage: confirm year and species visible are relevant to the current story. --- **Scene 4 — The return** *Approx. running time: 1:15* *Action:* The present-day boats returning to harbor. The catch is visible — or noticeably absent. We see the crew's faces as they dock. No one is laughing. The contrast with the archival abundance is felt, not stated. *Narration Cue:* Single narration line over the dock unloading — approximately: "This year, they brought back less than a quarter of what the boats could carry." (To be finalized in narration draft — this is the first time a fact is stated.) *Interview Placement:* None in this scene. *B-roll Required:* Close-ups of the catch (or near-empty hold). Faces of the crew. Avoid melodrama — observe rather than editorialize. --- **Scene 5 — Elias speaks for the first time** *Approx. running time: 1:15* *Action:* Elias Strand, veteran fisherman, at the harbor or on his boat. This is the first interview element in the film. He speaks, but not yet about what's wrong. *Narration Cue:* Narration sets Elias up briefly before he speaks: approximately one sentence on who he is. Then out. *Interview Placement:* Elias on what the sea used to feel like — his relationship to it, how long his family has fished. **Not yet** the decline. Save his account of the decline for later in the film. Use the lines where he speaks about the sea with love and memory. *B-roll Required:* Observational footage of Elias at work, in context. His hands. The harbor behind him. --- **Scene 6 — The title card** *Approx. running time: 0:15* *Action:* Elias's final words fade out over a wide shot of the harbor. Title card appears. *Narration Cue:* None. *Interview Placement:* None. *B-roll Required:* A single compelling wide shot for the title hold — harbor, sea, or landscape. --- **Sequence Notes** - This sequence depends entirely on the contrast between archival abundance and present-day scarcity. If the archive footage (Scene 3) cannot be cleared or is visually poor, the sequence loses its central structural device. Establish archive availability before locking this structure. - The opening (Scene 1) requires pre-dawn footage of sufficient quality. If unavailable, consider opening on Scene 2 and beginning in motion rather than stillness — acceptable alternative. - Elias's interview placement (Scene 5) is intentionally restrained. Resist the temptation to have him explain the problem in the opening sequence. The explanation is not the opening's job. ## Known Limitations - This breakdown is a structural plan, not a locked editorial sequence. It assumes that the raw material described actually contains usable moments matching each scene description — confirmation requires reviewing the footage. - Running time estimates for observational sequences are approximate. Actual cut times will be determined by the editor based on available footage quality and pacing decisions. - This skill works from written descriptions of footage, not from the footage itself. Moments that read well on paper sometimes don't exist in the material, and vice versa. ## Related Skills - [commentary-writer](../commentary-writer/SKILL.md) - [narrator-voice-adapter](../narrator-voice-adapter/SKILL.md) - [rough-cut-notes](../../post-production/rough-cut-notes/SKILL.md)